


Intimacy

by Harlow R (harlowrd)



Series: Zutara Month 2012 [11]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Zutara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 16:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harlowrd/pseuds/Harlow%20R
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes people barge into your life and then you can’t live without them. Written for Day 11 of Zutara Month 2012 - "Intimacy"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intimacy

“I like this room, to be honest,” she says, sitting on the bed.

“Me too.” He sits beside her. “But apparently it’s not appropriate for me to sleep here anymore.”

“But why not? I mean, you’re Fire Lord; don’t you get to sleep wherever you want?”

“Not really. The Fire Lord has his own special quarters with more luxury and security and whatever. This is just a prince’s room.”

“A princess room?” she teases, flashing him a grin. He scowls rather half-heartedly.

“Ha ha, that’s hilarious. A room that belongs to a prince.”

“I know,” she giggles. “Fancy.”

“Yeah.” He pauses. “You do know what it means, right?”

“What?”

“It means I have to move to my father’s old room,” he answers, looking vaguely disturbed.

“Oh, that’s right,” she says, then looks thoughtful for a moment. “And if that’s the Fire Lord’s room, isn’t it also…you know, where your grandfather died?”

“Ugh, you’re right!” he exclaims, dismayed. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Gross.”

“Can’t you get it, like, refurbished or something?”

“I guess…”

“Because that’s just horrible. Who knows what other Fire Lords did in there.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Of course I am! I’m giving you ideas and incentive to accept my ideas!”

“Well, it feels like a bit of a waste of money, especially at a time like this. I don’t want people to think I’m a spender or anything. But I guess it’s important…”

“Well, I think so,” she declares. “On the bright side, at least you weren’t conceived there…”

“Ew! Can we not talk about that?” She’s laughing, and he smiles despite himself. “But I guess I should still get a new bed.”

“Yeah, with a new mattress and new sheets. You should probably replace the rest of the furniture, too.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, your father probably wrote orders to get people murdered or something on that desk.”

Zuko looks disgusted.

“I’d just change everything, really,” she continues. “The curtains, the carpet, the closet – everything. It was all his, after all. The evil may have rubbed off on all of it.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right.”

“Of course I am.” He means to roll his eyes, but ends up smiling at her instead. Funny how smugness just suits her face.

* * *

“So which side of the bed do you prefer?” he asks her when they are spooning on hers.

“Hmm? I didn’t realize we had to pick a side, don’t we just switch all the time?”

“Well, I guess we do here, for now…but I mean on my new bed.”

A pause. “I didn’t know I’d get to pick a side there,” she finally says, sounding a bit careful.

“Well, yeah. I mean, eventually.” He starts to say more, but stops himself. She turns to lie on her back and face him.

“Eventually?”

Facing her rather disconcerts him. “Y-yeah. Don’t people do that? Pick a side, I mean. On their bed.”

“You mean…couples? Who share a bed? …Permanently?”

“Yeah. Aren’t we one?”

She’s on her side now, her body fully facing him. “We are a couple.” Her fingers make a pattern on his chest and she keeps her eyes down. “But I guess we don’t really share a bed…permanently.”

Zuko’s throat feels slightly dry. “Well, I thought…you know, eventually…my bed might be our…permanent bed.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.”

She smiles openly and he feels his heart melt – whether it’s from love or relief he can’t tell.

“So, which side?” he asks again, smiling.

“I don’t know! I’ve never had to pick a side before. Actually, I’ve never really slept in a double bed before,” she adds. “Which side did you used to sleep on, back when you were a kid?”

“Um…I think I just slept in the middle.”

“In the middle?” She gives him a playful slap on the arm. “And where am I going to sleep, then?”

“I don’t know!” he answers, laughing. “That’s why I was asking.” He pauses, then adds, smirking: “You can have all the space you want. You can sleep in the middle if you want! I’ll just need a bit of space on the edge there…”

“Poor baby,” she deadpans, giving him a cynical look. Then she smiles. “That’s okay, I don’t need that much space.” She runs her fingers through his hair “Just half is fine.”

“…Which half?”

Katara laughs. “I don’t know! I don’t know what the difference is between the sides.”

“I guess it depends on what side of my face you want to wake up to – the good one or the bad one.”

“There is no bad one!” she says sternly.

“Fine, the scarred side or the non-scarred one,” he corrects with an eye-roll.

Her eyes are soft as she brings her lips to the angry skin right below his eye. “I don’t really care either way.”

Zuko closes his eyes, heart going a mile a minute. He nuzzles her chin and she nuzzles him back, their lips almost touching.

“Really?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah.” She smiles. “I love it just as much as the rest of you.”


End file.
